


Oh! Darling

by tnlph



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Musicians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 13:07:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5830192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tnlph/pseuds/tnlph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Musician Killian meets musician Emma when they play a concert together.  Another work being added from FF so you may have read it before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oh! Darling

It was the last night of the tour and Killian Jones was ready for it to be over. As he walked to the dressing room, he counted the hours until he would be on the plane to London. Back to where he could decompress, lick his wounds, and finally relax.

Months and months of touring, living out of suitcases, and one night stands had not been what he needed to mend his broken heart. He thought the tour would have been the perfect solution to finding out his girlfriend was married and had no intention of leaving her husband. He thought getting away from everything he knew, and everything they’d done together would help him heal. But it hadn’t worked. 

Now, just twelve hours from his flight, he was antsy. Three hours until show time. Two hours on stage. Five hours at the hotel. Two hours to the airport. Then home. Well, at least his own bed. Home was an elusive concept for him.

As he walked down the hallway he saw Jeff, his drummer approaching. Behind him, a blonde carrying a guitar. Probably the supporting act. He ducked into the dressing room to avoid talking to her. 

The originally booked opening act had been forced to cancel the last seven nights of the tour due to visa issues, and management decided to bring in local acts for each night of the last leg. It was Killian’s biggest nightmare. Every night having to meet and greet with a new set of musicians, all wanting to suck up to him, telling him how great he was, hoping to parlay one night of opening into more. 

Really, thinking back to his early days, he couldn’t blame them. He just wasn’t in the mood. 

He waited just inside the door for Jeff, and that’s when he truly saw her as she passed. She was a goddess. She looked down as she walked by, almost as if she were too shy to meet his eyes, but that couldn’t stop him from observing her. Porcelain skin, green eyes, and the most beautiful hair he’d ever seen. 

He grabbed the doorframe, and leaned out backwards in order to watch her walk away, down the hallway. Of course Jeff noticed.

“ _ Killian, no. _ ” 

“Who is she?”   
  
“That’s Emma Nolan of Swan’s Song. They’re opening for us tonight. And like I said, no.”

Killian grunted, and threw himself down on the couch. Maybe Jeff was right. Twelve hours until the airport. He put his arm over his eyes, and tried to catch a few minutes of sleep until he needed to go out on stage. 

His attempt at sleep was cut short the second he heard the opening act’s music piped in through the speakers to the dressing room. Her voice was magical. It was as though she was speaking directly to him, the lyrics cutting through his months of pain and loneliness. He needed to see her; he needed to watch as she sang. 

He found his way to the side of the stage, and as he watched from the wing he began to find solace in her music. His soul was being pieced together with every word. As he listened, it wasn’t just his pain that was coming to light. With every word and inflection of her voice, he heard the story she was telling, of hurt, pain, and abandonment. He wanted to grab her and tell her he would be different. He would never fail her the way she’d been failed before. It was what he owed her as he knew she would be the one to make him whole again. 

His thoughts were broken as she spoke to the crowd.

“You guys can’t see this, but Killian Jones,” she turned and eyed him up and down, “is standing off to the site of the stage, just staring. He’s leaned up against the wall, all in his black leather and eyeliner, just appraising me. As if I weren’t nervous enough being out here to play for all of you already. Let’s see if he enjoys this next one.” 

He smirked, and bowed, and stepped into the shadows, hoping it was far enough back that he would no longer be a distraction. He wouldn’t be able to leave the stage, to stop watching her if he tried. She was his siren. 

* * *

 

He was always in his element out on stage. From the second he could see the crowd he connected, and played them like a second instrument. The Hollywood Bowl was not their largest crowd, but it was an amazing venue. He looked out on the sea of faces and loved watching as they sang his words along with him, and danced with the music.

But tonight he was distracted. Tonight he couldn’t help but watch to see if a flash of gold appeared at the side of the stage. He hoped she’d come watch them perform.

It wasn’t until the third song that he noticed. She was standing where he shouldn’t have been able to see her, back in the shadowy recesses he’d retreated to after she’d called him out. But she had no idea how hard he’d be looking for her. 

“Good evening Los Angeles.” He paused to allow the cheers from the crowd. “How are we all doing out there tonight?” Another pause for their response. He fed off of their energy. This, this right here fueled him when everything was shit in his life.  And tonight it was urging him on to more. 

“Such a beautiful night. Such a beautiful venue. And such a beautiful voice to start your evening. Did you all enjoy Swan’s Song?” He hoped he received a cheer. This was a bit of a gamble, but crowds never let him down. They would cheer for just about anything, and he was sure anyone who had been listening would have appreciated the opening music. The crowd didn’t fail him. 

“I believe I owe the lady an apology for flustering her earlier. Maybe I should bring her out and apologize on stage?” He quirked an eyebrow, and the crowd was putty in his hands. 

He turned to where he knew she was standing. “How ‘bout it, Swan? Care to join me out here. Maybe we can sing together?” 

The crowd was insane by this point, and he saw Emma walking towards him sheepishly, as though she couldn’t believe this was happening. As she finally got close enough, he could see the blush rise on her face.

He stepped towards Emma, placing his hand on her waist as he whispered the song in her ear. Only moving enough away to see her face, he silently questioned whether she knew it.  Her smile was answer enough. He wanted to stay in the moment, to ask if she felt the current running through his hand, from her body to his. But there were seventeen thousand sets of eyes on them, and it was time to get to work.

He turned back to the band, loathe to let go of her.

“Okay boys, you know this one. Jump in when you’ve got it. Swan, sing along as you feel appropriate.”

Two words in everyone knew it. Everyone knows the Beatles. And he and Emma handled the song as though they’d been singing together their entire lives, their voices blending effortlessly. 

_ Oh! Darling, please believe me _ __  
_ I'll never do you no harm _ __  
_ Believe me when I tell you _ __  
_ I'll never do you no harm _ __  
__  
_ Oh! Darling, if you leave me _ __  
_ I'll never make it alone _ __  
_ Believe me when I beg you, ooh _ _  
_ __ Don't ever leave me alone

As soon as they finished, he turned to her grinning madly, taking her hand and gesturing as though she should take a bow. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, Emma Nolan of Swan’s Song.” She was beet red, and beautiful. 

Away from the microphone, he turned to her and said, “I don’t know about you, Swan, but I think we make quite the team.” A smile was her only reply. 

She took a few seconds, shaking the hands of each of the band members, and ran off stage. 

Killian spent the rest of the show on a high. He couldn’t wait until he was finished and could head backstage to the after party and find her, talk to her, start getting to know her. Five hours had changed everything. There was no way he was getting on his flight to London.

As soon as the last note of the encore finished, he put his guitar down and ran off stage, back to the dressing room, stripping out of his stage get up before he went to find his siren. He would have liked to have showered, to have washed the sweat of the stage and the performance off, but didn’t want to waste any more time than was absolutely necessary. Grabbing a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt, feeling much more like himself, he changed and headed towards the after party.

Running at full tilt through the back halls of the venue, he slowed before entering the green room not wanting to look too anxious. He was ready to walk in, claim her, steer her to a dark corner, and spend the rest of his life getting to know her. Ready to lay himself bare for her in exchange. 

As he entered the room, he looked around and found only her band, no Swan. They all smiled when they saw him, as though they could read him, knowing exactly why his face had fallen as soon as he saw only them. 

It was her drummer who spoke first. “She’s gone. She never stays for this. I’m Ruby. This is Mary Margaret. That’s David. And you’re smitten.” 

There was no denying it. “I'm not sure smitten is quite the right word, lass. But yes, something like that.” 

The petite brunette, Mary Margaret, had been eyeing him warily. “Why did you choose that song?”   
  
“It felt right.”   
  
“Did you mean it?” This time it was the man asking. These three had assembled to protect her, and he was glad she had defenders.    
  
“Every word of it.”

“But you’re heading back to London?”   
  
“Not a chance. Not after meeting her.” 

Mary Margaret broke out into a smile. “So, if I were to tell you where you could find her…” she trailed off, not completing the thought. 

“I’d go fight for what I want.” 

* * *

 

 

Emma sat at a booth at the diner. It was her post show ritual. Eggs, bacon, potatoes, hot chocolate. More food than she could ever finish. Enough to ensure that once she was able to finally sleep after the post-show high, hunger wouldn’t wake her the next morning. 

After tonight’s show, she knew she should be concentrating on the future of the band. Things were going to change for them. The crowd had been huge. And they had been responsive. They weren’t just being polite while they waited for Killian Jones. They had enjoyed her music.

But that wasn’t what was preoccupying her mind. 

She couldn’t stop thinking of the dark hair and blue eyes of Killian Jones. The way their voices sounded as they harmonized. The feel of his hand at her waist. For once, she wanted nothing more than to stay and go to the crappy after party. To drink too much alcohol. To make out with him and not think of what would come after. But she knew that would be a mistake. She knew one drunken night with him would ruin her forever. 

She sat and picked at her food, smile on her face as she let herself daydream. Just because she couldn’t let it happen didn’t mean she couldn’t imagine it. 

She was startled out of her reverie by a man sliding into the booth across from her. As soon as she looked up, she saw those same blue eyes she had been imagining looking at her. 

“What are you doing here?” She tried to play it off. She tried to act as though he wasn’t affecting her. She was failing. 

He flashed her a wide smile.  “Well love, I do believe we made each other some promises tonight, and I intend to start making good on them immediately.” 

She eyed him warily. "Are you in the habit of hitting on every woman you sing with?"

"I've only ever sung with one other woman, love. It did not end well but I'm prepared to try again." 

Studying the man across from her, she could hear the truth in his words. She recognized something familiar in him; it was something she saw in herself. 

Taking a chance on her future, she passed him a fork.   
  



End file.
